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Dear Members
I present to you today the Annual Report of this our 20th anniversary
year. It has been a sad and worrying one with growing concern about
our financial position. You will recall that at last year’s AGM
we agreed to increase membership fees because of this concern. I again
drew your attention to this in the November/December Newsletter. By
February the position was so serious that the Committee was grateful
to accept a loan from a Committee member in order to ensure all our
financial commitments could be met pending the receipt of membership
fees in April.
An investigation of several aspects of our finances
was initiated and at the en of April we found proof that deliberate
misappropriation of Society Funds had occurred.
As our financial and reporting year ends at the end
of March it is not usual to report on matters after that time but
in this instance I believe that this matter is sufficiently important
for me to complete this report.
Once our suspicions were confirmed the Committee
met urgently and initiated action directed at resolving the problems.
The Police were informed and I wrote to all members. The response
to my letter was very positive and the Committee would like to thank
all of you who offered support and help.
Two offers in particular were important. Paul Lehmann,
the previous President, offered to act as a mediator and arranged
a meeting that I attended, at which certain admissions were made,
some of our books were recovered and an offer of restitution was made.
A new member who is a solicitor offered his services ‘pro bono’
should we need legal assistance. As we don’t have the financial
resources to fight a civil action in the court this is a very generous
offer. I am sure you will join me in thanking them.
Despite numerous promises, all of which have been
broken, there has been no restitution and the matter was referred
to the Police and our legal adviser towards the end of June.
It has become clear that the misappropriation occurred
over a number of years and you will ask how such a thing was possible.
I can only reply by saying that the Committee has always operated
on the basis of trust, a trust that was betrayed. The Auditor and
Committees were deceived over a long period of time.
As a result of this experience our financial systems
have been strengthened and great care is being exercised to ensure
that there is no repetition. It has been a severe shock to all of
us and demonstrates that continual vigilance is necessary to ensure
proper governance. We are all very aware of our responsibilities.
These problems aside the past year had many positive
aspects. Our birthday lunch at the Women’s Club in May 2000 was
a great success, a delightful venue and a delicious meal. Our guest
speaker Tim Calnin, the Artistic Administrator of the Sydney Symphony
Orchestra, entertained us with background glimpses into the Ring Concerts
the orchestra has been presenting.
In June our guest was Paul Curran, an international
opera director, in Sydney working on Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Paul gave an interesting talk about his experiences in overseas opera
houses with particular emphasis on his time in Russia.
July saw our Seminar in conjunction with the Art
Gallery of NSW on Götterdämmerung that was well attended with all
participants enjoying the very pleasant venue and the warm welcome
of the Friends of the Galley who provided a most enjoyable lunch.
Our thanks go to Craig Brush, the Functions Manager of the gallery,
for his support.
In September many of us attended those wonderful
performances of Götterdämmerung given by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra,
conducted by Edo De Waart and sung by Heinz Krause – Siegfried,
Elizabeth Connell – Brünnhilde, Peter Coleman-Wright – Gunther,
Elizabeth Campbell as Waltraute and Ekkehard Wlaschiha as Alberich.
These Ring Concerts have in many respects been the
most significant artistic achievements in Sydney for many years and
our congratulations and thanks have been conveyed to the orchestra
and conductor.
Our September meeting was a lively panel discussion
on Götterdämmerung with our special guest Bill Gillespie - Head of
the Academy of performing Arts, Edith Cowan University, Western Australia
- and our own members Peter Nicholson and Dr Terence Watson.
In October we celebrated our 20th Anniversary when
Horst Hoffmann and Adele Johnston accompanied by Fiona McCabe presented
a most enjoy able recital. We are indeed fortunate to have artists
of this calibre who are willing to donate their time and share their
talents so generously and we do thank them. At the same time we are
very aware that they are professionals and I would hope that once
our finances are stabilised we will be in a position to offer them
an appropriate fee.
The year ended with a very pleasant Christmas party
enlivened by Barry Walters walking us through many of the residences
Richard Wagner graced in many countries.
Sadly we record the deaths of Sarah Handley and Lady
Finley during the year.
The committee has had a very busy year and I would
like to thank them individually and collectively for their support.
Roger Cruickshank, our Treasurer, has been a tower of strength; we
owe much to Roger in sorting out the financial problems we have faced.
He has been untiring in his investigations and his wonderful sense
of humour has kept us all going. Dennis Mather as our Secretary is
also tireless and his laptop computer has become an intrinsic member
of the Committee. Terence Watson will retire as Vice-President this
year but will continue his work as Editor of the Newsletter and assisting
with the website. Shirley Robertson continues to provide the delicious
afternoon teas we enjoy at each meeting and will do so in the future
though she has now resigned from the Committee. Lindsay Knight helps
wherever necessary and despite work constraints continues to here
whenever we need him. Julian Block is a new Committee member co-opted
during the year and we have come to rely on his legal expertise and
advice. I would also like to thank Marc Greyling for his assistance,
on a voluntary basis, in maintaining our website which can be very
time consuming but which is a very valuable contact point for the
Society on an international level.
Our Auditor Joseph Ferfoglia has served the Society
since its foundation and his contribution has been enormous. He will
retire after a very difficult year and we thank him very sincerely.
We were sad to say farewell to Dr Otto Roever, the
German Consul General, and his wife on their return to Germany but
welcome their replacement Dr Wenzal. We continue to enjoy the facilities
of the Goethe Institut and we thank Dr Goll and his staff for their
support at all times. As well we are pleased to maintain our liaison
with the Opera Foundation and continue to support the Bayreuth Scholar
who, this year, was Michael Black.
I would like to give a special thank you to all those
members who gave donations during the year. Donations to the Society
are of course tax deductible and we rely on them to a large extent
to be able to support and encourage performances of Wagnerian works
within Australia.
This time last year I indicated to you that I would
not be seeking another term as President because I believe that change
is healthy for any organisation. However as the extent of our problems
became clear several members asked me to reconsider and stay at least
until matters were resolved. Accordingly I have again nominated and
if it is your wish I will endeavor, with the assistance of the Committee,
to ensure the future of the Wagner Society. Thank you.
BARBARA McNULTY
July 2001
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